Which Character Meals?

[DisneyMama811]

Ok, pretend covid isn't a thing for a minute (or pretend it's still early 2019 and life is normal)

If you were going to do only TWO character meals (preferably at a park not resort) which would you choose based on this info:

- Family of 4, children are both girls and if we get to go next year they'll be 8yrs and almost 6yrs
- Kids are fairly picky eaters so I'm not concerned with fancy food offerings more the atmosphere and experience
- Princesses, Disney Jr and Mickey & Friends are their main favourites

I know I can look this all up and have looked at lists of which characters are at which meal but I'd like to hear first hand experience!

Hubby and I did a Character Breakfast in 2011 pre kids at Tusker House, haven't been back to Disney since, I have no experience with other Character Meals or Disney as a parent over all lol

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

My top 2 would be Cinderella’s Royal Table and Garden Grill. Hollywood & Vine is also an option for Disney Jr characters.

 

[DisneyMama811]

My top 2 would be Cinderella’s Royal Table and Garden Grill. Hollywood & Vine is also an option for Disney Jr characters.

I would absolutely LOVE to take them to Cinderella's Royal Table but I've heard it's almost impossible to book?

 

[mom2rtk]

If they've never been to the castle, then CRT would be a great choice.

I would choose classic characters for the other. I know you said no resorts, but Chef Mickey is rather iconic. Maybe before a MK day? Or on arrival night?

 

[mom2rtk]

I would absolutely LOVE to take them to Cinderella's Royal Table but I've heard it's almost impossible to book?

If you don't get it at first, just keep watching. Use the Touring Plans reservation finder. You'll likely find something (not sure how Covid has changed things though).

 

[CynBeth]

We are adults that love character breakfasts and our favorites are Tusker House, Crystal Palace, and Cape May. Although this is not a character meal Be Our Guest dinner is quite an experience the rooms are amazing and The Beast at certain times walked through the different areas and you could meet him after your meal.

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

I would absolutely LOVE to take them to Cinderella's Royal Table but I've heard it's almost impossible to book?

If you’re staying on property you can book ADRs for your whole trip at 60 days. My best advice would be to plan it for later in your trip and be online right at 6am!

 

[DisneyMama811]

If you’re staying on property you can book ADRs for your whole trip at 60 days. My best advice would be to plan it for later in your trip and be online right at 6am!

we are planning at staying on property what I get confused about though, if we wanted to do CRT we also have to have a theme park reservations for MK for the same day right? like we can't spend the day touring Hollywood studios then go to CRT in MK for supper right?

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

we are planning at staying on property what I get confused about though, if we wanted to do CRT we also have to have a theme park reservations for MK for the same day right? like we can't spend the day touring Hollywood studios then go to CRT in MK for supper right?

You could do that if you have a park hopper. Without a hopper you can only go to one park per day and you must have a reservation for that park. With a hopper you still need a reservation for your first park, but then after 2pm you can hop to a different park (with no reservation needed).

 

[CynBeth]

we are planning at staying on property what I get confused about though, if we wanted to do CRT we also have to have a theme park reservations for MK for the same day right? like we can't spend the day touring Hollywood studios then go to CRT in MK for supper right?

If you have the park hopper you must make a park reservation for the first park and actually go to the first park and then do not have to make a reservation for the second park but getting in to the second park at 2 pm or later depends on availability. If all the park reservation slots for the day are all filled up it does not matter if you have an ADR you will not be let in so I would not make an ADR for dinner at MK unless that was your only park for the day it is not worth chancing the park hopping.

 

[MamaJessie]

Akershus and Tusker

 

[jsbowl16]

Trattoria al Forno breakfast to see Flynn and Prince Eric. Our daughter loved this one because you can't meet them anywhere else.

 

[Hiitsme]

If your girls love the princesses I'd recommend Akershus Royal Banquet. They have many of our favorite princesses and the food basic but still pretty good. It's a lower cost than CRT. Before the planet changed, you get try for an early ressie, get into that side of EPCOT earlier and then ride Frozen Ever After.

 

[ChanaC]

Chef Mickey's is pretty classic. People complain about the food, but it's pretty basic American stuff that your kids will love, and honestly adults will also find plenty of options they will like too. The location is great, because it's easy to get to from the Magic Kingdom, but you obviously don't need a theme park ticket. Some resorts are hard to get to for meals, but the Contemporary is right next to Magic Kingdom so you can take a bus there and walk or take the monorail over. Of course, kids love watching the monorail go by. You get the classic Mickey and friends experience as well.

For princesses, I like to recommend 1900 Park Fare. I think a lot of people forget about it so it's kind of a hidden gem. At dinner (assuming things are the same) it's Cinderella, the prince, the stepsisters, the stepmother, and sometimes the fairy god mother. It's not all the princesses but it's great if they especially love Cinderella. It's also in the Grand Floridan, which is a beautiful hotel that is really nice to visit. The grounds and lobby are very fancy and as a kid it kind of felt like a regal castle. I believe it's cheaper than the other princess meals, and like Chef Mickeys it's in a great location near the Magic Kingdom.

Btw, I think almost all the buffets have a "kid section" with stuff like pizza, chicken nuggets, and mac and cheese so there is always an option for picky eaters no matter where you go.

 

[DisneyMama811]

Chef Mickey's is pretty classic. People complain about the food, but it's pretty basic American stuff that your kids will love, and honestly adults will also find plenty of options they will like too. The location is great, because it's easy to get to from the Magic Kingdom, but you obviously don't need a theme park ticket. Some resorts are hard to get to for meals, but the Contemporary is right next to Magic Kingdom so you can take a bus there and walk or take the monorail over. Of course, kids love watching the monorail go by. You get the classic Mickey and friends experience as well.

For princesses, I like to recommend 1900 Park Fare. I think a lot of people forget about it so it's kind of a hidden gem. At dinner (assuming things are the same) it's Cinderella, the prince, the stepsisters, the stepmother, and sometimes the fairy god mother. It's not all the princesses but it's great if they especially love Cinderella. It's also in the Grand Floridan, which is a beautiful hotel that is really nice to visit. The grounds and lobby are very fancy and as a kid it kind of felt like a regal castle. I believe it's cheaper than the other princess meals, and like Chef Mickeys it's in a great location near the Magic Kingdom.

Btw, I think almost all the buffets have a "kid section" with stuff like pizza, chicken nuggets, and mac and cheese so there is always an option for picky eaters no matter where you go.

our arrival and departure days will be non park days because I can't deal with that and all the airport chaos so I'm starting to think that a resort character meal might be a nice way to kick off our vacation on the first night and give the kids their first little taste of disney

 

[ChanaC]

our arrival and departure days will be non park days because I can't deal with that and all the airport chaos so I'm starting to think that a resort character meal might be a nice way to kick off our vacation on the first night and give the kids their first little taste of disney

I agree with this. This is just personal preference, but I don't like buying a ticket if I'm only going to be in the parks for a few hours after arrival. Plus, it's nice to get a little taste of Disney without running from place to place. Just be careful of timing when scheduling something for arrival day. You don't want to be stressed if a flight it delayed or there is traffic and you are cutting it close to the reservation time. Disney is usually pretty forgiving, but I wouldn't want to deal with the stress of it. What time do you anticipate arriving? If it's in the morning or afternoon consider hanging at the resort and going to the pool or maybe going to Disney Springs.

And once again, remember logistics when planning on going to a resort. Contemporary and Grand Floridian are pretty easy to get to because you can just take an internal bus to Magic Kingdom and walk over (or take the monorail or boat for GF). Places like the Boardwalk or YC/BC either mean getting a taxi/uber or taking a bus to Hollywood Studios then the boat or Skyliner over, and even then there is some walking from the station. It's not super hard, but it can be time consuming and it's easy to get lost or turned around, and the Disney buses are famously unreliable at times.

 

[DisneyMama811]

I agree with this. This is just personal preference, but I don't like buying a ticket if I'm only going to be in the parks for a few hours after arrival. Plus, it's nice to get a little taste of Disney without running from place to place. Just be careful of timing when scheduling something for arrival day. You don't want to be stressed if a flight it delayed or there is traffic and you are cutting it close to the reservation time. Disney is usually pretty forgiving, but I wouldn't want to deal with the stress of it. What time do you anticipate arriving? If it's in the morning or afternoon consider hanging at the resort and going to the pool or maybe going to Disney Springs.

And once again, remember logistics when planning on going to a resort. Contemporary and Grand Floridian are pretty easy to get to because you can just take an internal bus to Magic Kingdom and walk over (or take the monorail or boat for GF). Places like the Boardwalk or YC/BC either mean getting a taxi/uber or taking a bus to Hollywood Studios then the boat or Skyliner over, and even then there is some walking from the station. It's not super hard, but it can be time consuming and it's easy to get lost or turned around, and the Disney buses are famously unreliable at times.

the flight is roughly 4 hours if I can get a direct flight (for some reason out of Toronto all the flights to Orlando seem to have lay overs) I'm hoping to get a noon/early afternoon arrival and then I would book an ADR for like 6pm ish?

 

[MudQueen22]

I would take them to CRT before they reach the age where you have to pay adult price. I think CRT is nice at any age, but I prefer to pay less since it's such an expensive meal regardless.

Garden Grill is a great choice for Mickey, Pluto, Chip & Dale, and the character interaction is tops.

Tusker House at AK is also very good. I can't recall if the entire 5 were there, but at least four were. The food was good, and the kids enjoyed the interaction.

 

[NothingClever]

It's been a few years, so I don't know if it was still around even pre-COVID, but Mickey's Backyard Barbecue was really great. It's exactly what it sounds like at Camp Wilderness. We paid something like $15 more per ticket for a "VIP" experience, which essentially just meant being given access to the event about 30 minutes early, which allowed the kids to meet ALL the characters without having to wait in line. Food was standard bbq fare (all relatively decent) as well as beer and wine. It also comes with a show featuring rodeo-themed activities and a dance party. I was not expecting much but came away super impressed.

 

[DisneyByMarriage]

My children have always liked Hollywood and Vine. As parents we don’t “LOVE” it, but for some reason my kids remember this one and ask to eat there. I think the reason is because the first time we ever went, we had an 11:15 reservation for brunch and we were one of only 5 tables in the restaurant so they had the characters to themselves. If you go during one of the seasonal times, Minnie and Mickey have costumes on so that could be fun. Another thing this has going for it is that it’s usually not that hard of a reservation to get. The food isn’t spectacular, but at the very least they have Mickey waffles and cereal so I know the kids will eat. As an adult, my favorite character meal food has been Tusker House and Ohana. Ohana will always win for me because it’s not a buffet, and they have better coffee. And then I know this is long winded, but if your girls do like princesses I think the experience of CRT would be amazing for them.